


Floured Faces, Frosted Lips

by deinde_prandium, PrincessBuggyCat, sukker_sugar



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Baking, Do it for the children, F/M, Idiots in Love, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, collab fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:21:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27386359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deinde_prandium/pseuds/deinde_prandium, https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessBuggyCat/pseuds/PrincessBuggyCat, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sukker_sugar/pseuds/sukker_sugar
Summary: Sugar, spice, and something nice for two oblivious idiots to do together on an autumn afternoon...Marinette and Adrien are paired up to make treats for a charity bake sale. Awkwardness ensues.A collab fic written for the Miraculous Writers Guild October 2020 event. Art by PrincessBuggyCat.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 38
Kudos: 164
Collections: Miraculous Writer's Guild October Event 2020





	Floured Faces, Frosted Lips

“All right, class!” Caline Bustier called with a clap of her hands. “I’m so excited to see so many of you have volunteered to assist with tomorrow’s charity bake sale.”

Marinette shifted in her seat, excited for the rest of the announcement. Alya nudged her a bit, amused by her excitement.

“Each of you will be randomly paired with a partner to bake fall-themed desserts with. I’ll let you out of class a little early this afternoon so that you have plenty of time to make something delicious. Then tomorrow, we will set up a spot to sell your treats. All the funds from the event will be donated to the local children’s hospital!” 

Ms. Bustier continued her speech, but Marinette found it difficult to concentrate on anything but the part about having a baking partner. She hoped to be teamed up with someone fun, rather than have to spend the day in a hot kitchen with an awkward atmosphere. Although she hoped for a good partner, she still wanted to get stuff done, not just goof about. 

She peeked over at Adrien, who was listening to Ms. Bustier speak with rapt attention. Getting paired with _him_ would simply be too much to wish for. _Knowing my luck_ , Marinette thought with a sigh, _I'll get paired with Chloe_. She thanked the imaginary charity that had prevented Lila from participating, as well. 

“Ms. Bustier’s about to pick names,” Alya whispered, nudging her again. “Pay attention!” Marinette straightened up in her seat and looked to Bustier. She held a clipboard and a pencil, the paper on the board showing a list of the pairs. 

“This year the groups will be,” she started, building a bit of suspense, “Chloe and Alix, Rose and Nathaniel, Ivan and Sabrina, Juleka and Alya, Nino and Kim, and Max and Mylene.” She stopped speaking for a moment, catching her breath. “Finally, Adrien and Marinette.” 

Marinette eyes went wide, a bit with horror and a bit with overwhelming joy. 

She nearly jumped right out of her seat when Adrien turned around to give her a little smile and wave. “It looks like you and me get to be partners, Marinette! I’m sure it’s gonna be a dream working together with you,” he beamed, making Marinette’s heart stutter for a brief moment. 

She belatedly returned the smile and wave before coming back to her senses, “Ah! Yeah! I’m super excited to get to work with you. You’re amazing at everything, it’ll turn out great for sure.”

Adrien’s face seemed to scrunch up in a bit of a cringe. “Actually… I don’t really know that much about baking. I’m probably going to end up following your lead for the most part,” he said with a sheepish smile.

"Fat's thine! Uh, sorry, I mean, that's fine! We can, um, we can work at my house if you want? You know, since I live above a bakery and all that. Got all the supplies!" she added with a nervous laugh. 

Mercifully, an angry shriek from Chloe Bourgeois saved Marinette from getting any deeper into the pit of awkwardness she had started digging for herself. 

“EXCUSE ME,” Chloe called out, “I’m supposed to be paired with Adrien!” Everyone collectively sighed, Alix making a noise equivalent to a snort and laugh. 

“Honestly, I would side with her, but I’m not putting him through that.” Alix remarked. 

“It is utterly ridiculous! I refuse to work with this hooligan!” Chloe shrieked, gesturing toward her partner.

Ms Bustier opened her mouth to intervene, but Alix waved her off. “It’s fine Ms. Bustier, really. Someone has to handle her. Besides, this might be fun,” she said, mischief glinting in her eyes as she turned back to her partner. “Just relax, Bourgeois. I’m not gonna kill you with my baking. And remember, this is for charity. It’s not about you. Think of the _children_.”

Chloe growled at her before plopping back down into her seat with a huff. Marinette didn’t miss the way the blonde girl glared at her in the process.

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh. “Don’t worry about Chloe,” he said reassuringly. “She’ll get over it. Anyway, when should I come over to your place? I’m really excited to be with - I mean, to learn from you.” 

Marinette nodded a bit dumbly, her smile widening as the seconds passed. Adrien turned back to the front, right as Alya nudged her, breaking Marinette out of her trance. Alya nodded to the front, signaling to pay attention as Bustier went on with the lesson.

* * *

The class seemed to drone on for quite a while after that, but nobody was really paying attention anymore, as they were too excited for the bake sale. At least, Marinette wasn’t paying attention, that was for sure. She seemed to float through the rest of the lesson in a daze; before she knew it, everyone was packing up and preparing to head home.

"You ready to make something amazing together?"

Marinette nearly choked at the question. She glanced up to see Adrien, who was smiling up at her despite the uncertainty painted on his face.

"Sorry...you _did_ say we were going to your place to bake after school, right? I’m actually pretty lucky, because Nathalie texted me earlier to say my photo shoot this afternoon was cancelled, plus with Ms. Bustier letting out of class to bake I’m really all yours until at least dinner time, but-"

“No, of course! Let’s go!” Marinette said. She headed out the door with him, staring at the ground as she walked. She wanted to look at him, talk with him, sure, but she knew the words wouldn’t come together.

Marinette fidgeted a bit trying to come up with something to say, but Adrien beat her to it. “So, any ideas on what we’re baking? We should probably come up with something before we get there.”

His voice abruptly pulled her out of her scrambled thoughts. “Right! You’re right, we probably should come up with something,” she said, tucking a loose piece of hair behind her ear. “Was there anything you had in mind?” she asked, tilting her head to the side. 

“I might not have much experience as a baker, but I’m up to the challenge of making anything! Maybe something we can easily make a lot of in a short amount of time,” Adrien replied, tapping his lips with a finger. 

Marinette paused and contemplated for a moment. “Well, it’s fall themed. So for flavors we could go with pumpkin, maple, apple, or cinnamon.” 

“Hm, that’s true. So would we do some kind of pie or cake?” he asked as they began to approach the bakery. 

Marinette seemed to perk up a bit as an idea struck her. “Ooh! We could do cupcakes! We could have different flavors of cakes and frosting and then decorate them all fall themed! Maybe the frosting on the pumpkin cupcake could be pumpkin shaped, or we could frost maple leaves, there’s a lot we could probably do. But I think cupcakes are pretty safe - we could make a bunch!” she rambled, her eyes practically dazzling with excitement as she looked at him. 

Adrien responded with a smile so bright, Marinette nearly fell over. "Cupcakes sound like a brilliant idea. Honestly, as long as you're in charge, I'm sure whatever we make is going to be amazing. Everything you suggested sounded just heavenly."

She beamed at his praise. _You're heavenly,_ she thought to herself with a happy sigh.

"What was that?"

Marinette ducked her head as blood rushed to her cheeks. _Did I just say that out loud??_ In her panic, more words poured from her mouth of their own accord. "Oh, nothing! Nothing at all! Definitely nothing about how your smile is so nice - I mean, ice! Icing! I was thinking about how much icing sugar we'll need to frost our cupcakes."

When the door to the bakery came into view, she practically cried with relief. "Oh, look, we're here! I'm, um, I'm just gonna run upstairs and throw my stuff in my room, feel free to wait down here and make yourself at home, be right back!" Not waiting for Adrien's response, Marinette all but dove inside, scurrying through the bakery and upstairs to her family's apartment as quickly as her legs could carry her. 

It wasn't until she was in the safety of her room that Marinette even stopped to take a breath. "Why am I freaking out like this?" she wondered aloud. "It's not like we haven't been alone together before. We're friends. Friends bake together, right? I can do this. Remember, you’re doing this with Adrien for a charity event. Think of the children, Marinette. Think of the _children_."

Tikki flew out from her hiding spot to offer some additional advice. "You may want to think a little faster, Marinette. You kind of just left your friend downstairs."

Marinette froze up at the realization that she had just left _Adrien_ at the door. “Oh no,” she muttered. She sprinted over to the trapdoor and flung it open, dashing down the flights of stairs before skidding to a halt right in front of the arch leading back into the bakery. She stopped and took a deep breath, walking back behind the counter and to the door as calmly as she could.

Adrien was still standing there, right where she had left him. When he saw her, he gave her a smile, but if Marinette wasn’t mistaken she could’ve sworn there was a hint of mischief in his eyes as well. It seemed to disappear as quickly as it came. 

“You all good?” he asked, snapping Marinette out of her train of thought. 

“Huh? Oh! I’m fine, I just had a lot of books in my bag so I put them away really quick,” she said with a nervous laugh, “Uh, I’ll take you upstairs. You can put your things down in the living room and we can use the kitchen there since my parents are busy in the bakery kitchen.”

“Okay! Sounds good to me," Adrien nodded. Marinette let out one more little nervous laugh before turning around and leading him up the stairs.

She needed to pull herself together, remember the children. _Do it for the children. The children_ _—_

“Hey, Marinette?”

Marinette froze at the entryway. “Yes?”

“Are you sure it’s okay that I’m here today? You seem kind of...distracted.”

She glanced guiltily at her baking partner, whose smile seemed to have lost a bit of its luster. Instantly, her heart dropped into her stomach; the last thing she needed was for him to think she didn’t actually want him there. “I’m fine, Adrien,” she assured him. “I promise. I’m just...nervous.”

“Nervous? Why?”

 _Because I want to impress you? Because I can barely form sentences when you’re near, and we’re about to spend hours in the kitchen together?_

“I...just want to do a good job with these cupcakes,” she said after a moment’s consideration. “I know my parents run a bakery and all, so I guess I’m suddenly feeling a bit of pressure.” Though it wasn’t the whole truth, at least it was something.

Adrien nodded in understanding. “I get it. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put pressure on you or anything.”

Marinette shook her head. “No, no! It’s not your fault. I do this to myself all the time.”

He smiled at her once more. “Well, this time, you’re not alone. I may not come from a line of bakers, but I know how to follow directions. And I’m willing to learn. So if you don’t mind teaching me, I think we could make a really good team.” 

They exchanged warm smiles that made Marinette’s heart melt, but she continued to get prepared. They went up the stairs and into the apartment, Adrien going over and sitting on a barstool while Marinette grabbed miscellaneous bowls, spoons, and whisks from cabinets above and below. 

“Alright, let’s get started.” Marinette declared.

* * *

Marinette went around the kitchen, grabbing different ingredients and tools and setting them by the stove as Adrien held the bowl against his lower chest, trying his best to lightly fold the batter over itself. She maneuvered behind him and took sheet pans out of the oven, preheating it after everything was out.

Despite getting off to a rocky start, things were actually going pretty well. She smiled, flicking her wrist up into the air while whispering the directions to herself - something she did to keep herself motivated or on task while baking. Thankfully, Adrien didn’t ask. 

Adrien’s face scrunched up in thought as he stared at his bowl. “Does this look okay?” he asked. 

Marinette glanced over at his bowl and nodded. “Yep! I already put the cupcake liners in the pan, so you can just pour that in. You can use the ice cream scoop if you wanted it to be neater,” she instructed. "I’m gonna start making frosting for the pumpkin cupcakes. Let me know if you need any help putting the batter in!”

Adrien made a little ‘o’ shape with his mouth, clearly impressed. “Okay, I think I got it. Did you want me to start the batter for the maple cupcakes after?” he asked. 

“I already set everything up for those, so you can go on ahead and do that,” she replied as she dug around for the powdered sugar. 

She glanced over at Adrien putting the last bit of batter in the tin and smiled to herself. They _did_ make a good team, didn’t they? Adrien could almost give Chat Noir a run for his money.

Adrien placed the empty mixing bowl in the sink, a look of satisfaction painted on his face. “You know, Marinette? I think I was right. We make a pretty good team.”

Marinette blushed. “I was just thinking that,” she admitted. “For someone who is new to baking, I’m really impressed by you!”

“But you’re just incredible in the kitchen,” he countered. “I mean, using the ice cream scoop for the batter? I never would have thought of that.”

“Oh, that? That’s nothing.”

“No, seriously! You’re just so...resourceful.” Adrien’s voice dropped lower, and he looked away. “For a minute there you totally reminded me of…” he seemed to mutter to himself, before trailing off.

Though he was not facing her directly, Marinette noticed what she could have sworn was a hint of red across his cheeks. “Reminded you of who?” she asked, unable to hide her curiosity. 

“Of Ladybug,” he murmured. "But I suppose that makes sense, what with you being my everyday Ladybug and all."

Marinette’s breath hitched. _Oh._

Unspoken words hung over them as the silence continued. Marinette shrunk into herself a bit, crossing the kitchen space over to the fridge. Adrien went over to the part of the counter and started on the maple batter, the silence eventually becoming less tense and more comfortable.

Adrien pursed his lips for a moment. “Um, sorry, but when do I add in the maple syrup?” he asked, holding up the bottle.

“Ah, when you’re done with the dry ingredients you can get another bowl and start beating the butter. You can mix the syrup in with the butter after that,” she said, glancing over at him a moment after answering. She had to stifle a laugh. 

Adrien seemed confused. “Is everything alright?” 

Marinette snickered. “You got a little…” she trailed off, gesturing to her face. Adrien only seemed even more confused and tilted his head to the side. 

“Hang on,” she said, getting up from where she was sitting in front of the cabinet. She walked over to him, picking up a clean rag and using it to gently wipe his nose and cheeks.

“You’ve got flour all over your face,” she said, showing him the cloth covered in flour. Adrien was practically frozen with a little bit of pink dusting his cheeks. 

It didn’t take long for Marinette to realize what she’d just done and froze up as well. They were still almost nose to nose, so close that she could practically count the light smattering of freckles dotting his cheeks. She didn’t realize Adrien even _had_ freckles. Unconsciously, her gaze drifted down to his mouth, then back up to his eyes - glittering pools of green that seemed to be doing the exact same thing she was.

If she were bolder, this might have been the moment to make her move. Instead, another thought invaded her mind. _The children. Think of the children._

The buzzer dinged, interrupting their silent standoff. Adrien spoke, his voice hoarse. “We, ah - we should probably check on those before they burn.”

Marinette stepped away with a nod, blushing furiously at what she had almost done. She’d literally gone from ditching Adrien at her front door to being on the verge of kissing him. What was wrong with her?

She swiped a pair of oven mitts and opened the oven door, the hot air blowing in their faces. She grabbed a toothpick and stuck it in one of them, checking that it had come back out clean. She pulled out the pan and set it on the stove top, closing the door. She slipped the mitts off her hands and onto the counter, grabbing the towel slung over her shoulder and dabbing her forehead. 

Marinette turned back to him, finally not being a flustered mess for the first time in the past few minutes. However, when she spun around, he broke into a fit of giggles. 

“What is it?” she asked. 

Adrien looked up from keeling over and holding his stomach, and rubbed his forehead. Marinette became more confused by the action, until she felt her own forehead. She brought her fingers back down in front of her face and found them white and powdered from the towel. 

Normally, Marinette would have become a flustered mess at the notion that she’d just rubbed her face with the towel that she rubbed his face with, but she couldn’t help but burst out laughing along with Adrien instead. 

It took them both a while to sober up, and Adrien was rubbing tears out of his eyes by the time they both caught their breath again. “So, what do we do next?”

“Well,” Marinette said as she got the last giggles out of our system. “We should get that next batch into the oven, but the ones that just came out need to cool a bit longer before we frost them. So...you do the cupcakes while I work on making the frosting?”

Adrien gave her a little salute. “Aye aye, captain,” he said with a little grin.

And just like that, the pair continued as if nothing had happened. Within a few minutes, the maple cupcakes were baking away, and Marinette was scooping frosting into a set of piping bags. 

“So, I’m guessing that you’ve never frosted cupcakes before?” 

Adrien shook his head. “I’ve got a feeling it’s a little harder than mixing ingredients in a bowl.”

“You’re not wrong,” Marinette agreed. “But what if I taught you how?”

“You’d do that?” Adrien asked hopefully. “I can’t guarantee that my cupcakes will look as beautiful as yours, but I don’t want to make you do all the work.”

“Of course I would. We’re a team, remember? Anyway, we can keep the designs simple. Nothing too intimidating,” she added with a smile. 

Handing him a piping bag, Marinette grabbed a clean plate and placed it between them on the counter before reaching for a bag of her own. Carefully, she twisted the end of her piping bag closed, squeezing the frosting out in a straight line. “The trick to frosting cupcakes,” she said, “is to keep the pressure even while you’re squeezing the icing out of the bag. That way, it doesn’t spill out too quickly.” She passed the plate to him. “Now you try.”

Adrien followed in suit, twisting the end and squeezing the middle. He slowly moved the bag across the plate, the icing coming out the front. He stuck his tongue out in a small blep as he focused. Marinette smiled at it a bit at the action. It reminded her of something Chat Noir would do whenever he had to focus. 

He stepped back from the line of icing he drew on the plate, smiling at his work. Marinette looked over it - the line was slightly wobbly, but overall, good for a first try. 

“Great! Now try making something with the frosting. It can just be a circle or a little flower.”

“Okay!” Adrien said as he adjusted his grip and started drawing with the frosting. He picked up a piping bag or two with different colors to add little details. 

It took him a minute, but once he was done, he stepped back with a wide grin. “Ta-da!” 

Marinette looked over at his plate and gaped. She couldn’t find the words to respond, instead making a few incoherent sounds.

“Cat got your tongue?” Adrien said, shooting a wink at her. 

The pun caught her off guard even more.

“That's - you - _how?_ ” she stammered, looking back and forth between Adrien and the cute, perfectly frosted cat on the plate in front of her. 

“I guess that’s what happens when you have an amazing teacher,” Adrien said, waggling his brows a bit. 

Marinette looked at him, dumbfounded, “But I didn’t…?” she paused and stared at him. “Are you secretly some expert cupcake froster?”

“No, but I am a _very_ attentive student. And who better to learn from than the daughter of the best bakers in Paris?”

“You say that like my parents are baking royalty,” Marinette scoffed. 

“If they’re royalty, then that must make you the princess,” Adrien replied smoothly, shooting her a smile so blindingly flirty that, combined with his use of the word _princess_ , almost made her believe she was talking to Chat Noir himself. An unmasked, totally gorgeous, baking Chat Noir.

 _I must be short circuiting,_ she thought. _Adrien and Chat Noir? Impossible. Must refocus. Think of the children. The children..._

Marinette took deep breaths in, deep breaths out. It was fine. It was going to be fine. 

“So we may not need to practice with the icing as much as I thought we would.” she said, sliding the bags of different coloured icing to the side. She cleared the counter and moved the cooler cupcakes into the space, leaving the stove top for the batch about to come out of the oven.

“I guess we can sit for now. The cupcakes in the oven are probably gonna take fifteen minutes,” she said as she put her hands on his shoulders to lead him over to the sofa. He started giggling as she walked him over and pushed him onto a cushion where he plopped down. 

“You know I could’ve walked myself, right? The sofa was right behind us,” Adrien snorted. 

Marinette, in turn, scrunched her nose. “You have a better idea of what we can do, Agreste?” she asked, putting a hand on her hip.

Adrien grabbed her hand and pulled himself back up. He stood before her, just inches away, eyes gleaming. “If you ask me,” he said lowly, “I don’t think the day would be complete if we didn’t…”

Marinette gulped, on the verge of total shutdown for the umpteenth time that day. “If we didn’t what?” she croaked.

“If we didn’t taste what we’ve made before we sold them,” Adrien finished. Still holding her hand, he pulled her back into the kitchen. All Marinette could do was follow.

He let go of her hand once he got over to the cupcakes, leaving her at a barstool to figure out how to breathe again. Marinette looked up, seeing Adrien holding two halves of a cupcake - half for him, she assumed, and half for her. She took her portion and split _that_ in half as well, popping a piece into her mouth.

Adrien picked up the green icing bag and squeezed a bit on the top, stuffing it in his mouth. Marinette giggled at him, grabbing the pink icing and smearing some on her other piece. She ate it and nodded her head in satisfaction. 

“Hang on,” Adrien said, pointing to the corner of his mouth. “You got some on your lip.” 

“Oh, okay,” she said. She took a napkin and wiped her lip, somehow missing any trace of icing. She brought the napkin against her lip again, _still_ missing the icing. 

Adrien walked over and placed his hand against hers and asked, “May I?” Marinette blinked a few times, her cheeks becoming red as she nodded with a shaky breath. He tilted her chin up with his free hand, brushing his thumb against the corner of her mouth and catching the extra icing on it. He stepped away and wiped the pad of his thumb against his own lips now, licking the icing off. 

Marinette stood in shock for a good thirty seconds.

If she had thought her face was red before, she was definitely darker than Ladybug’s suit by now. She had to break her gaze from him, covering her mouth with a hand in a futile attempt to cover her blush. _She couldn’t even think of the children._

In the midst of Marinette rummaging through her brain for a proper response, the front door suddenly burst open, revealing her parents. 

“I’m so sorry we couldn’t greet you sooner, we were having our rush hour down in the bakery,” Sabine said, smiling warmly at the two of them. Tom waved from behind her with a platter of snacks. 

Marinette had been startled, but she soon puffed out a breath of air she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Hey, Mom and Dad! It’s all good, we’re alright. We’re pretty much done, actually - we just need to decorate after we take the cupcakes out of the oven,” she said with a voice ever so slightly wobbly from being flustered. 

Adrien gave them a polite smile and wave as well. “Hello Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng!” he greeted. 

"Please, call me Tom," Marinette's father said with a laugh. He smiled with approval at the batch of cupcakes out on the table. "I see you've already got one batch ready to frost. They look wonderful!"

Marinette glanced over at Adrien, and struck by how quickly his previous swagger had given way to his usual shy sweetness. "This is all thanks to Marinette, really. Your daughter is an amazing baker, and an even more incredible teacher," Adrien said. "She's been so, so patient with me all afternoon. I can't say enough how grateful I am to have been paired with her for this project."

It seemed silly to say it, but of all the things that had happened so far - the flour, the flirting, the _frosting_ \- it was the sincerity in Adrien's voice as he spoke that pushed Marinette past the point of functioning. It was just too much. "I need a minute," she suddenly blurted out. "Can you please excuse me? I just, I...I'll be back in a minute."

She didn't wait for an answer, but simply ran up to her room, leaving a bewildered Adrien in the kitchen with her equally bewildered parents as she shut the trap door behind her.

Blowing out a breath, Marinette struggled to make sense of the events of the past couple hours. 

Tikki flew over from in front of Marinette’s desktop, a concerned look across her face. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Marinette slowly nodded, taking deep breaths in and out, attempting to not hyperventilate. 

“I just- I can’t-'' she stammered between breaths, “I don’t think I can function anymore. Adrien’s being so nice - not to mention _flirty_ \- and he’s made me need to think desperately about the children a whole lot.” Tikki just nodded in reply, flying over and rubbing Marinette’s cheek in a soothing manner. 

“I’m sure everything will be fine. Besides, you like him, don’t you? How is this bad?” Tikki asked. 

Marinette rubbed her finger against the back of Tikki’s head, sighing. “Yes, I do like him. But this is for _charity,_ not _flirting._ Besides, he probably still sees me as a friend.” Marinette explained. “Plus, I can barely function around him normally, let alone _inches apart.”_ she groaned, burying her face in a pillow beside her. “I don’t know what to do. I feel like I’m just gonna mess everything up and make a complete fool of myself at this point,” she mumbled, her voice muffled by the cushion. 

Tikki was quiet, she flew over next to Marinette’s face, reassuringly rubbing her cheek against her’s. 

They stayed like that for a moment until the sound of hesitant tapping came from the trap door. Tikki immediately flew away to hide and Marinette sat up. 

“Can I come in?” 

Marinette felt her heart leap into her throat at the sound of Adrien’s voice. 

The room fell into silence for a brief moment. 

“...Yeah,” she eventually spoke up in a voice just barely above a whisper.

The trap door began to creak open, his blond locks peaking through. Her breath hitched once their eyes met.

"Your mom, uh...she sent me up here to check on you. Said something about us needing to clean up the kitchen so that they can get dinner started.” He paused, and Marinette noticed that his usual smile had been replaced with a frown. “Listen, I, um...I think I owe you an apology.”

Marinette’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Adrien pulled himself up the remaining steps and shut the trap door before giving her an answer. “I, um…” he began, rubbing the back of his neck, “I feel like maybe I made you uncomfortable just now. Or maybe the whole afternoon, even. I haven’t been respectful of your boundaries, and I’m sorry. I just...we were having fun, and I thought...anyway, what I thought doesn’t matter. I just hope I didn’t upset you too much.”

Her stomach twisted guiltily. She hadn’t stopped to think what message she’d been sending when she flew from the room, and now this sweet, adorable boy thought she was actually mad at him. Confused? A little. Flustered? Definitely. But not mad. Never mad.

“That’s not - I’m not -” she stuttered, “You didn’t upset me. It’s just...a lot to take in, having you here all afternoon.”

“Oh,” he said, dejection lacing his voice. “I’m sorry, I-”

“No, it’s not you!” she interjected. “I swear. It’s been...amazing having you as a partner, spending this time with you. It’s just, I don’t know...maybe I felt like we’ve been having too much fun? And I kinda felt weird about it.” 

“Weird?” Adrien asked, cocking his head to one side. 

Marinette shrugged. “You know, ‘cause this is supposed to be a charity thing.”

“Well, no one says that charity work can’t be fun,” he pointed out, a little glimmer of a smile returning.

“Yeah, well, fun is one thing, but flirting is another,” she shot back. Adrien seemed to stiffen at her words, and Marinette’s eyes widened as she realized what she’d just said. _Oh no._ “Sorry, I meant-”

“You were flirting with me?”

Heat rose in her cheeks, and she struggled to find the strength to respond. _Think of the children_ , she told herself. “Well, I-” 

“Because _I_ was.”

Marinette sat cemented to the chaise, unable to move or say anything. 

Adrien fidgeted with his hands as he spoke, seemingly nervous. “I...I’ve liked you for a while. Everything you do is amazing, not to mention what you’d do for other people. _You_ are amazing, and I don’t know how I didn't see it the first time we met. I couldn’t possibly put into words how wonderful you are to be around. I’m sorry if I pushed boundaries, or made you feel uncomfortable. I feel like I misinterpreted everything. Sorry if I ruined the whole day.” Adrien apologized, twisting the ring on his finger. He glanced over to the side, avoiding eye contact. 

Marinette felt a flurry of emotions run through her all at once. But what made her heart lurch the most was the look of hurt spread across his face. 

“Adrien… you didn’t ruin anything at all, I promise,” she said sincerely, looking straight at him. “I had a lot of fun spending time with you. In fact, I’ve always enjoyed the time we’ve spent together. You’re amazing too, you know?” Adrien looked like he wanted to protest, but Marinette kept going, "It was my fault for confusing you. I was so focused on keeping my feelings in check I… I didn't really stop to think about _yours_."

“You...you were trying to keep your feelings in check?” Adrien asked haltingly. “Your feelings about _me_?”

“Well, yeah,” Marinette replied, confused by the tone of his question. “I mean, you’ve been so sweet, even when I was ditching you at my front door and ordering you around and wiping flour off your face. And yeah, I got a little flustered when you licked the frosting that was on my face - I mean, not that you licked it _off_ my face, but you know what I mean - and there are a couple times when you’ve been really close and it’s been hard to concentrate because you smell so good, but that’s not your fault because my kitchen is pretty small...”

She trailed off when she noticed the look on Adrien’s face, which could only be described as an adorable combination of amused and awed. 

Adrien chuckled quietly. “You, um...you didn’t quite catch everything I said, did you?”

She gulped, wracking her memory of the past few minutes. “I caught the part where you said you were sorry, but like I said, you don’t have anything to be sorry about, because I-”

“Marinette.” He scooted closer to her on the chaise, and when he took her hand in his, she thought her heart was going to stop. “I said that I liked you. That I _like_ you.”

Marinette looked down to their hands and back up again, dumbfounded. “You do?” she squeaked.

Adrien chuckled again and smiled, looking into her eyes. “Yeah.” 

Marinette thought her heart couldn’t beat faster. She brought her free hand to cover her mouth, her face going dark red. “Oh my god.” Her face grew a giddy grin. 

“Oh my god, I can’t believe this. I’ve liked you since you gave me your umbrella at the beginning of the year...” Her phone dinged from her desk, but she paid it no mind. “I’ve been trying to tell you for the _longest_ time, but every attempt went horribly wrong.” Her phone dinged again. She brought her hand down from covering her face, rubbing it up and down her other arm. 

Her phone dinged two more times, finally making her annoyed enough to get up and check it. “I’ll be _right_ back.” Marinette heard Adrien snicker from the chaise while she got up. She picked it up and checked her messages, finding they were from Alya. She sighed and read through them before sending a quick reply: _I was doing something, I’ll get back to you._

She went back over to the chaise and sat down, holding his hands in hers. _“Anyway,_ all of my attempts have gone horribly, horribly wrong and I can’t possibly put how happy I am into words. “And I-” 

Marinette was cut off by Tom hollering up the stairs. “Dinner’s ready!” 

She sighed. “We should probably go down.” 

Adrien seemed to hesitate for a moment. “Wait,” he said, gently taking Marinette’s hand in his as she began to get up. "Just so that I'm sure I'm not dreaming this...I like you, and you like me?"

Marinette stared at him, briefly confused. But once she saw the endearingly hopeful look in his eyes, she smiled. She leaned in and stole a quick peck to the lips before Adrien had the chance to do anything. 

“Would you like to stay?” she asked shyly. “After all, we do still have cupcakes to decorate.”

Adrien looked at her with big, awestruck eyes. “I would like that.” 

* * *

It took significantly more effort than Marinette had anticipated to keep her mouth shut about what had happened between her and Adrien. But as the two of them warded off curious stares from their classmates while they arranged their cupcakes at the bake sale booth the next day, she knew they were probably doing the right thing.

This wasn’t the time to indulge in teenage gossip, she reminded herself. They had the children to think about.

Still, despite the challenge, Marinette kind of liked the idea of keeping things a bit of a secret for the time being. She snuck a little smile at Adrien, who winked as he presented her with a spare cupcake.

It had a perfectly frosted black cat on it. 

Across the room, Alix placed the cakes they - or rather, she - had baked on the table near the end, while Chloe sat and sulked behind it.

“Alix, why is she so mad?” Kim asked. 

“No reason. I just made her do some of the work,” Alix replied, grinning to herself.

“She got batter all over my brand new sweater!” Chloe yelled. 

Alix scoffed. “Yeah, no, you did that to yourself,” she shot back.

Back where Marinette was, Adrien stifled a laugh, shooting her an amused look when she snorted at Chloe and Alix’s bickering. Alya walked up next to her and watched the silent communication unfold.

“So, you wanna tell me what’s going on with you today?”

Guiltily, Marinette turned to face her friend, who was laden with a plate of cookies. “You never answered my texts last night,” Alya continued. “And now you’re here with Adrien, and it almost looks like you’re actually comfortable around him. I’ve been here for ten minutes and I don’t think I’ve heard you stutter once! What gives?”

Marinette’s cheeks tinged a little pink, “We just worked really well together, that’s all,” she said, fidgeting. 

Alya gawked at her. “Did someone cast a spell on you or something? Now I _really_ want to know what happened.”

Marinette gave her a look. “Of course not. We just ended up having a lot of fun at my place and baked some mean cupcakes. Nothing really happened, we- _we thought about the children_. It’s a charity event after all,” she insisted, sneaking a look back at Adrien...who was trying to stifle another laugh.

Her friend pouted in return, “I know that, I just--”

“Hey, Als! I need your help setting up this table over here!” Nino called out from behind a table he was attempting to carry. 

“Oh, okay, I’m coming!” she called back, shooting a quick glance back at Marinette that read _‘this isn’t over’_ as she jogged over to him.

Marinette sighed to herself, she turned around to look back at Adrien, who was tapping away at his phone with a cheesy grin. She raised an eyebrow and walked over to him. 

“What’s with the face?” she asked with a laugh. 

Adrien looked up at her. “Oh, you know, just doing a little promoting,” he said, showing her his phone. 

It was a photo of the two of them in the kitchen after dinner. The two of them, covered in frosting and flour, dorky smiles adorning their faces as their cheeks smushed up against each other, each hoisting up a cupcake. The caption read, _“Made some magical cupcakes together with this magical girl - come get your own at the Collège Françoise Dupont Bake Sale today! All proceeds benefit the Hospital for Sick Children. #bakesale #doitforthechildren #flourandfrostingfordays”_

Marinette admired the photo of them, feeling bubbly on the inside. 

“You do realize everyone is gonna freak out about this, right?” she said suddenly, nudging him with her shoulder. “What happened to keeping things quiet?”

“Do you not want me to post it?” he frowned. 

She shook her head after a moment. “Nah, go ahead. Alya’s gonna get the scoop out of me one way or another,” she said.

“If you say so,” Adrien smirked, hitting the post button. 

With that, the bake sale was bombarded in mere moments. There wasn’t a single crumb left by the end of the day...except maybe for Kim’s disaster of an experiment. 

Marinette smiled over at Adrien, who beamed back at her. Despite her exhaustion, she couldn’t help but feel proud of herself - not just for what she and Adrien had accomplished together, but for how she had finally managed to tell him how she felt. To learn that he felt the same way was just the icing on the cake.

She suspected it wouldn’t be long before Alya (and the rest of her classmates) figured out just how much things had changed between her and Adrien in the kitchen that afternoon. Until then, she would just think ahead to next year’s bake sale - and the promise of more floured faces and frosted lips to come.

**Author's Note:**

> This was a lot of fun for us to write! Feel free to leave us some love in the comments (all sugar, no salt please).
> 
> We are deinde-prandium, sukker-sugar, and pawsomelybuggy on tumblr. Also check out the other October event fics on the mlwritersguild page!


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